"It's a different year and we've really been having some great practices," White said.

"That's the thing, being able to go in and break things down, coming in the next day after a game and saying 'OK, what'd we do last night, what are the good things we did, what are the things we need to work on?' and talking about those things and then doing drills pertaining to those things."

K-Park lost to Summer Creek, Dayton and Barbers Hill in the first round. It's in the middle of stretch of rematches with all three, with Dayton on Friday. Summer Creek is up Tuesday.

"(The Lady Broncos) have to come to our place, and I hope that our kids want to step up and be competitors and take care of that game," White said.

They stepped up against New Caney Porter in the first round, scoring a tight three-set victory that showed their potential.

"We played so intense and it was like, basically, what we'd been working on the previous three weeks," White said. "We clicked and came together and competed. It was definitely a win that we needed in order to go into that third game of district (against Barbers Hill).

"It was really a big sense of accomplishment. They have a lot of seniors, they haven't graduated anyone yet from their program, and for us to be able to go in and do that, I was very pleased."

Defense has paced K-Park in its rebuilding project.

Returning libero Justin Luis, who White hoped would lead the way going in, has developed into one of the top defensive players in the area. She's helping out a young front line.

"She's amazing," White said. "She is the epitome of what a championship player should be - how she acts on and off the court, in the classroom, with her teammates. She has an incredible work ethic.

"I can't say enough about her."

Luis has kept the defense on point despite never having the services of talented Porter transfer Becca Rodriguez. White had hoped she'd bolster the young roster, but she never came out.

Senior defensive specialist Sarah Mills has helped out on the back row, and Alison Hight moved from defense to right side.

The top players are part of the youth movement.

Athletic sophomore outside hitter Jourdyn Bartels, who has a big swing, leads the team in kills, sophomore Meredith Hadley is contributing in the middle and junior RS Emily Swain is playing well.

Together, their goal is to keep K-Park in the postseason, and perhaps challenged for a top seed.

"That's the goal, and just that relentless pursuit of striving to get better every day and having a competitive spirit and knowing that even though we are stacked with a lot of young players, we are representing Kingwood Park, and that's got to stand for something," White said.